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any theories on why prices seem to be dropping with a lot of books?
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194 posts in this topic

11 hours ago, traynight said:

....those Ebay taxes are a killer.

Plus taxes on supplies or graphic novels ordered from Amazon.com and shipped to Canada.

Demographics: that early generation of collectors that were building their back issue and artwork collections from say 1972 to 1979 (X-men) when LCS were opening up in USA and Canada are starting to retire from their day jobs at age 60. This will push more fresh SA and high grade BA comics into the market in 2020, as they unload crates in storage to de-clutter or dump.

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I don't the sky is falling, good time to buy, But the rules are a little different than GA. I would buy only unrestored high grade books with 1962/1963 preference., as it took a couple of years for the word to get out and the disttribution of the early Marvels were not as good as DC. Hence rarer especially in top grade

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13 hours ago, tth2 said:

Ding ding ding!

If prices and supply keep going up, particularly when high grade copies are being manufactured as fast as the presses can work, at some point supply outstrips demand at those price points, and prices fall until a new supply-demand equilibrium is reached.  It's simple economics.

What'll be even more interesting is if/when the new supply-demand equilibrium turns out to be at a much lower price level than people had expected.    

I remember telling people years ago when pressing starting gaining momentum that it's going to kill the value of high end copies long-term. But I guess many current buyers/sellers are not thinking the long game.

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Great thread topic. I started one months ago about the same thing, but as it applied to AF #15 specifically. I was lambasted by many when I pointed out that AF #15 was dropping, but now it seems to be happening to plenty of books. I think most, if not all, of the reasons listed above are valid and in play. Plus the reality is, only so many people can afford these prices...

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1 hour ago, KEY ISSUES Comics said:

Great thread topic. I started one months ago about the same thing, but as it applied to AF #15 specifically. I was lambasted by many when I pointed out that AF #15 was dropping, but now it seems to be happening to plenty of books. I think most, if not all, of the reasons listed above are valid and in play. Plus the reality is, only so many people can afford these prices...

Glad this discussion can happen in the open.   I had some concerns that due to the fact the boards is also a marketplace where there's sellers and dealers, it would mostly be bullish sentiment.  What I've read have been some real good insights and candor.  I personally want prices to go up as I've collected somewhat extensively but also want to make informed decisions on picking good moments to buy more.

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Another thing that I believe has hurt sales is sales tax.  I live in Florida and have to pay 7% sales tax on any Heritage auctions I win.  At this time,  I do not have to pay any sales tax on Ebay sales. I am sure this will be changing at some point.  Thus, I have to factor in this 7 percent on any Heritage Auctions that I bid on.  Every state is different on sales tax for Ebay and other auction sites.  This makes for an uneven playing field.  7 percent tax on a key book can be a lot of money that people from other states may not have to pay or pay even more depending on which state one lives in.  Needless to say, in my case, it is not competitive for me to bid on Heritage, but it is on Ebay.  

Just my 2 cents.

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Definately could be due to the Holiday season because everyone is buying stuff for relatives, etc.... On the other hand, we've been an insane bullish market run...  People have a lot of excess money now; maybe some  are anticipating a stagnating market in the near future and pulling back on their purchases.

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On 1/23/2020 at 9:29 PM, atomised said:

So I've noticed as I sift through GPA that prices seem to have been soft for alot of SA keys towards the end of 2019 and a bit of that trend carrying into 2020.  Not one particular book per say, but really quite a few keys.  I've heard a variety of theories and none of them totally resonate with me so I thought I would take the boards.  Feel free to challenge that they are not  dropping, it's just been my observation.

What grades are you looking at? I've been seeing high grade SA keys steadily increasing on GPA. Some have skyrocketed.

This newly imposed sales tax by unelected judges in Washington is going to either slow down sales of keys in certain grades or force sellers to severely drop prices. This is kind of unchartered ground here. I wouldn't be surprised if it lowers sales numbers on GPA.

If you think about it though an Ebay sale of a 10k or higher book from someone in a high sales tax state wont reflect what they paid in tax on GPA. That tax # could very well be in the thousands! I imagine a sizable portion of the collecting community lives in California where the sales tax is like 10 gazillion percent or something ridiculous! Judges suck!!!

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The comic markets will plateau for 2-5 year periods as well. I can remember not long ago when Hulk #181s in 9.4 were stuck in the $4k-$5k range for a couple years before popping in 2018. Prior to that, it was a $2K-$3K book for 6-8 years. My guess is that it consolidates around $10K now for a couple of years, if not longer, before starting to move up again. The only wildcard is a Hulk vs Wolverine movie/fight scene in a movie. That could make it jump up again faster.

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1 hour ago, AJCohen said:

If you are here to enjoy a passion and a love you have had as a kid and are now an adult that can afford the pie in the sky dreams we had when we were young, I say enjoy the ride.

If I ever told myself as a 10 year old child that I would own a good number of these magical and truly rare items that are even older than I am, and was able to share them with my children I would have lost my mind.

I just won an auction on a book that I thought had escaped me years ago. Did I buy at the bottom? Perhaps not, but it was bright, it was clean, it was rare (only 27 in current grade) and my son lovessss the character. So I jumped on a Showcase 4 in a 3.5 so we can share and enjoy something truly special together.
 

Comics will ebb and flow like all other investments but what investment turns men into giddy children when it touches our hands? Nothing else. I don’t need 5% or 10% year after year returns on my collection. They give me a huge amount of joy and I’m sure the bottom will not ever truly fall out. And if it does I may buy some more. 😉

Happy collecting my friends!

 

 

 

B8D80CC2-EBE5-411D-96C3-DFFBB6460E08.jpeg

(worship)

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12 hours ago, kimik said:

Not all SA keys are dropping. There are still a couple of titles with room to run............

That being said, it seems like we have one or two of these threads every new year. The pattern has been the same for the past 20 years online and at auctions - sell in March through October, and buy in November through February. It is not a difficult play to follow. (shrug)

 

It's more than the seasonal fluctuation. 

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On 1/24/2020 at 1:53 AM, RUSSIAN BEAR said:

People found out you can make way more in the stock market. The only collectible I would buy now is basketball PRIZM for rookie cards. I cleaned up on Zion, even so the stock market is a way better bet. 

Indeed. Mastercard is up $30.00 per share since late Dec alone. I thinkI'll have mine pressed and slabbed. 

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